Publications

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System

study of the system in more than 40 plants, the authors came to understand that at Toyota it's the very rigidity of the operations that makes the flexibility possible. That's because the company's operations can be seen as a continuous... View Details

Keywords: by H. Kent Bowen & Steven Spear; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

October 2011
Case

Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service

By: Robert Simons and Michael Mahoney

In January 2010, U.S. luxury goods retailer Raleigh & Rosse is being sued by its employees for encouraging "off the clock" hours. At the center of the class action lawsuit is the famous Raleigh & Rosse performance measurement system previously thought to be the core of... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Goal Setting; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Sales Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Growth Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Retail Industry; United States

June 2012 (Revised February 2017)
Teaching Note

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This is the teaching note for Henkel: Building a Winning Culture (HBS No. 112-060) View Details

Keywords: Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Goals; Incentives; Levers Of Control; Strategy

04 Feb 2014
Working Paper Summaries

From Crowds to Collaborators: Initiating Effort and Catalyzing Interactions Among Online Creative Workers

Keywords: by Kevin J. Boudreau, Patrick Gaule, Karim R. Lakhani, Christoph Riedl & Anita Williams Woolley

April 1991 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A) and (B)

By: Robert Simons

Teaching Note for (9-191-118) and (9-191-119). View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Internal Controls; Risk Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry

January 2025
Article

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System Implementations and Corporate Misconduct

By: Jonas Heese and Joseph Pacelli

This study examines whether enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations are associated with reductions in corporate misconduct. Specifically, we study the relation between staggered facility-level rollouts of ERP systems and facility-level regulatory violations... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governance Compliance

Read Now

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Fundamentals of Family Business System Governance

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the purposes and ingredients in the governance (or steering) of a family business system. Explores at a high level the governance of the family business, its owners, and the family. Focuses on how these governance structures, processes, plans, and agreements... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Family Ownership

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Levels: The Remote, Asynchronous, Deep Work Management System

By: Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez

Levels is a highly innovative startup in the health care space. They intend to revolutionize health by linking behavior—eating, exercise, sleeping, etc.—to changes in metabolism. They believe metabolic health can be managed through careful monitoring of changes in... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Business Startups; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Technology Industry; United States

December 2010
Article

Life in the Fast Lane: Origins of Competitive Interaction in New vs. Established Markets

By: Eric L. Chen, Riitta Katila, Rory McDonald and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt

Prior work examines competitive moves in relatively stable markets. In contrast, we focus on less stable markets where competitive advantages are temporary and R&D moves are essential. Using evolutionary search theory and an experiential simulation with in-depth... View Details

Keywords: Balance and Stability; Competitive Advantage; Supply and Industry

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Read Now

June 2010 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

Pfizer: Letter from the Chairman (A) and (B)

By: Robert Simons and Kathryn Rosenberg

Teaching Note for 110003 and 110004. View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Strategy And Execution; Performance Measurement; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 13: Identifying Strategic Risk

By: Robert Simons

This module reading begins by describing the three sources of strategic risk—operations risk, asset impairment risk, and competitive risk—and demonstrates how these risks can undermine an entire business. To assist in the identification of these risks, the risk... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Risk Assessment; Operational Control; Asset Impairment; Franchise Risk; Fraud; Strategy; Information Management

March 1999 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

Citibank: Performance Evaluation

By: Robert Simons and Antonio Dávila

Teaching Note for (9-198-048). View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Measures; Performance Evaluation; Balanced Scorecard; Banking Industry

September 1994 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Chemalite, Inc. (B): Cash Flow Analysis

By: Robert Simons and Antonio Davila

Students are asked to use actual and pro forma financial statements to prepare a statement of cash flows under both the direct and indirect method. View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow Analysis; Strategy Execution; Management Control Systems; Analysis; Cash Flow; Financial Statements

August 2018
Article

Virtual Issue on Empirical Management Accounting Research

By: Margaret Abernethy and Dennis Campbell

Keywords: Management Accounting; Management Accounting And Control Systems; Accounting

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2012
Article

A Field Study on the Acceptance and Use of a New Accounting System

By: V.G. Narayanan, Ranjani Krishnan and Jamshed J. Mistry

This study examines the attitudes, use, and acceptance of a new accounting system in a pharmaceutical corporation that switched from an Activity Based Costing System to the Theory of Constraints System (TOC). Using structuration theory as a framework, we posit that... View Details

Keywords: Theory Of Constraints; Structuration; Field Study; Accounting; Innovation and Invention

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